12/8/15

Wet Blocking...No Need for Speed

Regardless of how speedy one is at knitting whether with two needles or twenty, there is the final chore of blocking.

I say chore because it is not as much fun as choosing colors, zipping over the twenty-five or so needles on Bonda...knitting machine...and fast crocheting edging.

Blocking is even more essential when speed knitting on a knitting machine as the outside edges always curl in towards the purl side. I do two things to flatten out the edges.

One is to pick up the edge stitches and knit a rib border or in my case cast off with a crochet needle and continue around the edges with a single crochet stitch. Usually two rounds of single crochet is sufficient and prepares the piece for a decorative crochet edging pattern. Two is to 'Wet Block'.

For this 20x70 inch shawl I choose to layout the piece, measure and pin the knitted section to size and shape the crocheted edging. Once the edging is pinned, I measure the entire piece and make adjustments as needed. Then I wet it down with a water filled spray bottle, place a fan to blow directly on the shawl and let it dry....usually over night. The whole blocking process takes longer than it took to Speed Knit and Fast Crochet the shawl.

There are two more shawls...same size, same yarns, different colors...waiting to be blocked.